In an advance in the emerging field of bacterial imaging, scientists are reporting development of a method for identifying specific sites of localized bacterial infections in living animals. Bradley D. Smith at the University of Notre Dame and colleagues describe the method in a report scheduled for the Jan. 10 edition of the Journal of the American Chemical Society, a weekly publication.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists evaluated cattle that have been genetically modified so they do not produce prions, and determined that there were no observable adverse effects on the animals’ health. These genetically engineered cattle would not get mad cow disease.
A new method of assisting couples to bear children known as “in vitro maturation” (IVM) has been introduced by Dr. S. Lindenberg, Fertility Unit, Herlev University, Copenhagen. An alternative to the standard approach is to collect immature oocytes from medium sized follicles during midcycle and to then mature the ova in the laboratory (IVM).
At any given time within just a single brain cell of sea slug known as Aplysia, more than 10,000 genes are active, according to scientists writing in Cell. Researchers also analyzed 146 human genes implicated in 168 neurological disorders, including Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases, and genes controlling aging and stem-cell differentiation. They found 104 counterpart genes in Aplysia, suggesting it will be a valuable tool for developing treatments for neurodegenerative diseases.
Experiments indicate the promise of imatinib mesylate to prevent tissue fibrosis and bring meaningful advances to the treatment of SSc.
A humanized mouse model may be valuable for not only studying sex differences in RA, but also for understanding why women are particularly vulnerable to autoimmunity and for developing future therapeutic strategies.
A 26-year-old Egyptian man died of bird flu on Wednesday, the third member of his extended family to die of the virus, a World Health Organisation (WHO) report highlighted.
Researchers at the National Institutes of Health have discovered that a previously unexplained fatal form of Osteogenesis Imperfecta — a disorder that weakens bones and which may cause frequent fractures — results from a genetic defect in a protein involved in the production of collagen.
It appears that alcohol-induced bone loss resulting from excessive binge-alcohol drinking can be prevented by vitamin D or the anti-osteoporosis drug Boniva? (ibandronate), a Loyola University Health System study shows.
Two papers in this week’s PLoS Medicine suggest possible new avenues of treatment against malaria.